Director, Global Menu Strategy

Company Description

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. As the global leader in the food service industry, our legacy of innovation and hard work continues to drive us.
From drive thru updates to delivery to mobile order and pay, we are innovating quickly and growing. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements - check them out here!

We are enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model, in which employees spend part of their week connecting with co-workers in our state-of-the-art headquarters. Located in the booming West Loop of downtown Chicago, it's set up to be a global hub that cultivates collaboration:

• Take a class at Hamburger University
• Sample future items in our Test Kitchen
• Utilize the latest technology to connect with your team around the globe

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. We are interested in people who enhance our company culture: Does this role interest you? We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every single requirement!

For McDonald’s, one of the most recognized brands in the world, the Global Menu Strategy team drives growth and elevates our brand by connecting with our customers via great-tasting, craveable food and beloved product brands such as Chicken McNuggets and Big Mac. We do this by setting growth strategy for core categories and brands, identifying future growth platforms, and fostering menu capabilities and sharing across the McDonald’s System.  This means we must understand what our consumers want in order to translate that into compelling actions in the marketplace. Through our menu offerings and restaurant experience, we address the modern needs of the customer, creating delicious feel-good moments that drive traffic to our restaurants.

The Director, Global Menu Strategy will play a critical role in the integration of our Global Marketing team’s consumer-centric menu approach.  He/she will be responsible for leading the strategic direction of McDonald’s Global product portfolio in one or more of our priority food & beverage categories, yielding sustainable growth.

As a cross functional team leader, the Director of Global Menu Strategy works effectively across disciplines to develop and sustain strong, productive relationships with internal and external partners to flawlessly deliver on initiatives. This person will be responsible for developing the overall category strategy and identifying high-growth opportunities that deliver breakthrough solutions to drive sustainable growth for the McDonald’s Business globally.  He/she will be responsible for driving cross-functional and cross-market collaboration between marketing, product development, design, and operations in order to successfully execute in market, consistently learning and building business scenarios that can be demonstrated across McDonald’s globally.

The position will report to the Senior Director of Global Menu Strategy.

Principal Accountabilities:

In addition to the following McDonald’s policies and procedures, principal accountabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Engaging in consumer-centric marketplace opportunity identification and scoping across our core products and categories
• Working with global cross-functional teams, including food technology, operations, insights, and marketing on the development, sell-in, and deployment of long-term strategies and actions that drive sustainable growth for McDonald’s category and product portfolio.
• Developing scalable global solutions that deliver value to customers, owner/operators and the corporation
• Improving the portfolio’s value by ensuring that each core category product brand has a relevant and differentiated space in the marketplace.
• Developing compelling product & category stories that link insight to strategy, influencing action and decision-making, across a broad range of partners in both global and market teams
• Leading cross-functional global projects with teams including the following: insights, marketing, menu, food technology, operations, equipment, supply chain, packaging design, IT and digital.
• Developing content and communicating across Corporate, Global Marketing Leadership and Global Menu forums.

• 7+ years of experience required in related field (Brand/Product Management, Marketing, Customer Experience, Consulting).
• Proven experience applying consumer and business insights to develop brand strategies.
• Demonstrated success working with and influencing cross-functional teams and stakeholders at different levels, including comfort soliciting input both formally and informally.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex insights and communicate them out in a simple way, tailored to different audiences.
• Established track record impacting business outcomes through influence without formal authority.
• Experience leading major brands across a variety of scenarios including the establishment of major brands, development of new brands and the re-shaping of positioning for existing brands.
• BS/BA degree in related field required; MBA preferred.
• Generalist marketing experience credentials and global/international experience preferred.

McDonald’s is committed to providing qualified individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations to perform the essential functions of their jobs. Additionally, if you (or another applicant of whom you are aware) require assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise seek assistance in the application process, please contact recruiting.supportteam@us.mcd.com

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.